Burning Trees and Wishful Thinking [Nira'lia]

[Ruka]

“Nira'lia! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?” Ruka exclaimed as she fussed over the girl, who had fallen into the same trap she had. Sighing with relief as she watched Nira'lia stand up and trail her hands over the edges of their little pit, she allowed herself a moment to calm down. Fussing over the other girl wouldn't get them out of this hole.

“Seems like we both got caught down here.” She let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck in a sheepish sort of way. This was not what she intended when she asked Rak'keli to not let Nira'lia get caught up in another one of Ionu's traps. 'Maybe I should've been clearer,' she thought, listening intently as Nira'lia offered to lift her up and out of the pit.

“Mm, that sounds like a good idea! Then I'll pull you out!” Beaming, Ruka took a step closer, motioning for Nira'lia to cup her hands. “If you cup your hands – yeah, just like that – I'll step onto them, and then you push as hard as you can up! I should be able to reach the top then.”

Nodding her consent, Nira'lia bent her knees slightly and cupped her hands the way Ruka had instructed. Shooting an apologetic smile at the Konti for what she was about to do, she placed her right foot on the girls' cupped hands and braced herself.

“Okay, on the count of three - one … two … three!” As if the two girls had been rehearsing this stunt all day, Ruka leaped up as Nira'lia heaved with all her might, forcing Ruka to fly up to the top of the pit. Quickly, Ruka fumbled to grab a hold of something so that she wouldn't fall back in. She dug her fingernails into the leaf covered dirt, mentally cheering when it held her weight.

“Alright! We did it Nira'lia! Now, let me just pull my self out and ...” With a forceful grunt, Ruka locked her elbows and kicked the side of the pit wall as she slowly, but surely, began rising out of the hole. A large gasp of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding in flew out of her as she fell onto her stomach.

“G-give me a second to catch my breath. Then I'll pull you out.” Quickly regaining control of her breathing, she pushed herself to her hands and knees and cautiously crawled back over to the side to the pit. Popping her head over the ledge, she sent a bright smile down to the waiting girl.

“Alright? Grab my hand and I'll pull you up. Try to scale the wall with your feet to help you.” Stretching her arm as far as it would go without causing her to fall back into the pit, Ruka reached down and waiting for Nira'lia to grab her outstretched hand. “Alright – when ever you're ready!”

[Nira'lia]

Nira'lia wasn't a strong girl, though it was helpful that Ruka was small in size. However, that didn't retract from the fact that the Konti had a difficult time with the task. She put all her might in the action, but as soon as Ruka had found herself out of the pit, Nira'lia almost fell back in exhaustion. It had been one quick heave-up of a tiny girl, and she was this tired. Nira'lia really needed to do some body-building. The Konti looked up to see Ruka struggling with tiredness as well. Aside from having an interest in herbalism and medicine, it seemed like she was also similar to Nira'lia when it came to a lack of physical abilities. "W-will you be fine? I'm quite heavy..." That was a lie, and Nira'lia knew it. Those of the Konti race were all built with a light structure, and she knew for a fact that she was less heavy than most people. However, it was evident that Ruka would still have a difficult time. 'Well, not that we have a choice...' Nira'lia braced herself, and after taking a deep breath, grasped Ruka's hand. As soon as their hands touched, Nira'lia's surroundings flew to the past. Her eyes turned to a daze as she saw a memory of young girl and her beloved grandmother. They were tending to an injured bird, and Ruka was being taught how to aid it... Nira'lia didn't know it, but this was a big turning point in Ruka's life. Soon enough, the visions faded away. Shaking her head, Nira'lia forced herself back to the present. She used the girl's advice and attempted to scale the wall with her feet, but found out that it was too smooth to be helpful. That meant they would have to rely on Ruka's strength. "Sorry...!" said the Konti sheepishly as Ruka pulled her up with all her might. It was a straining process and as soon as Nira'lia''s elbows reached the edges, it became easier. Her feet dangled below her clumsily as Ruka proceeded to help her up completely. Panting, the Konti collapsed with her back to the ground. Dazed, she stared up at the sky. "Woah, Ionu!" Nira'lia practically exclaimed. She wiped away the sweat on her forehead as she recomposed herself. "Are you okay, Rue?" The Konti rolled to her side and peered at the younger girl. She was still too tired to move much, but she soon forced herself to sit up. Nira'lia pointed a tired finger at the sea of grass that she had emerged from before she fell into the pit. "The... tree... it's somewhere in that direction... I don't know if we should rest, or..." she gave another deep breath. "It might vanish and reappear somewhere else, I don't know. I swear this city is driving me crazy."

[Ruka]

OOCSorry, I sort of controlled Nira'lia just a bit at the end. If you need me to edit it, I will!

Ruka leaned back on hands beside Nira'lia, her breath coming out in quick, little puffs. Her face was flushed slightly in exertion, and in her mind she couldn't help but add a little more to Nira'lia's exclamation at Ionu. Really, what was this god playing at? One of these days she'd show him! She was determined not to let him bully her forever. Her arms shook slightly under her weight, and eventually she just plopped on her back. Being sickly during most of her early years, she never had the chance to develop much muscle or put on much weight, which cause her to end up sporting a slim frame. However, ever since she was employed at the hospital, she felt as if she had become a little strong, and credited her ability to pull Nira'lia out of the pit to that.

Her eyes slowly traveled up, locking onto the small, puffy white clouds that floated over head. Though it had been snowing in the city, here in the forest it was nice and warm, the shade of the tree's keeping the temperature from becoming too uncomfortable. She listened to the sounds of cicadas in the distance, humming their sweet songs as they did what ever bugs normally did. She peered over to her newly made friend as a large, amused smile spread across her face.

“Pffft...” She couldn't help it – Ruka, laying on the ground beside Nira'lia, randomly burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. All the stress she had been carrying with her since stepping into this crazy city all spilled out of her at that instant. Her laughter shook her body, and her eyes began filling with tears. She clamped her hands down on her stomach as she tried to talk through her giggles.

“I-I'm sorry – hahaha! - but I r-really hate Alvadas!” Eventually, her laughter subsided into easily controlled giggles. She wiped the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks away with the back of her hand, propping herself up with the free one. After releasing all the pent up tension, Ruka was happy to say that she felt ten times better than she had before, and with an aura that seemed to glow so brightly it was visible, she trained her humorous eyes onto Nira'lia.

“Let's go find that tree now – before we get ourselves into even more trouble.” Pushing herself to her feet, she brushed off the dirt on her back side before holding her hand out to help her Konti companion up. After they were both safely on the feet, they carefully edged around the pit and made their way to the tall, swaying grass that waited for the patiently ahead.

“Woooooah! It's so tall! We could get lost in this thing!” Shading her eyes with her hand, she tilted her head up to see the tips of the grass. No wonder she wasn't able to find Nira'lia before – she would have been completely submerged in this stuff. Glancing over her shoulder at the other girl, she motioned for her to lead the way.

“The position as leader is all yours! Lead the way, Nira!” She paused, blinking innocently at Nira'lia. “Is it okay if I call you that? Nira?”

[Nira'lia]

"Yes, of course you can call me Nira," said the Konti with a smile as she led their way through the sea of grass. Every now and then she glanced back to check if Ruka was still near her. After about a minute of traversing in the sea of grass, Nira'lia could no longer tell if they were still going in the right direction. The tall greenery around them made it difficult to see further, and in all directions, she saw the same thing. However, Nira'lia was fairly certain she had come from thisdirection. She had gone to Ruka in a straight line, simply following her voice, and if she remembered correctly, this had been the way. "Why are you in Alvadas if you don't want to be here?" asked the Konti curiously. She wasn't sure if Ruka had already told her before. "Alvadas is really stressful at times, though it's also fun. I didn't actually think I'd ever be able to visit the city of Illusions, so I count it as a blessing... despite Ionu's bullying." Nira'lia had only been to two cities for the majority of her life—Zeltiva and Sunberth. While it had always been in her interest to travel, she only succeeded after three decades. "I'm here to offer my aid to a... uhm, mage guild..." she explained with hesitation. Nira'lia knew that magic was a bad topic for most. It brought about a terrible stigma that was judged harshly by almost everyone. Ruka seemed nice, but Nira'lia didn't know enough about her to know if she would be judged in a bad light for saying what she just did. When she swept aside another large stem of grass, the Konti saw that it opened up to a clearing. Excited, she looked back at Ruka beckoning her to follow swiftly. At last, the sea of green was at an end... but was it the right end? Until she stepped out to the clearing and took a look around, she wouldn't really know if she had led them to the right place. She hoped they were here!

[Ruka]

“After my Granny died,” she began, carefully picking her way through the tall grass after Nira'lia, “I joined a caravan in Mura, who were traveling to the mainland. They told me that it would be a long journey, because instead of going the straight and narrow path to Syliras, they traveled around the continent and into the Suvan Sea. We ported in the Kalea Region and then traveled from that small port into Alvadas. I decided to stay here when they offered me to join them. This is the first city, beside Mura, I've ever been to; so I was excited to learn all I could about it.”

She sighed, remembering her uncontainable joy at being able to see such a new and foreign place, only to discover how much she actually disliked the said city. Not to be totally biased, Ruka thought the city was beautiful and exciting, and if given the chance she was sure she would have come to love it like its residence so obviously did. But due to her grandmother's passing being so near and the patron god's obvious teasing, her usually cheerful and accepting nature had turned on her in this city, causing her to develop a sense of loathing for it.

“I guess … I just haven't had the time to grieve for Granny yet, and having no friends here has made me feel rather lonely. I suppose I've been taking all my frustration out on Alvadas, when really I should be grateful to it. It's given me a home and the most wonderful job I could have ever asked for. I was able to meet Ms. Irene, and of course you Nira, so things really haven't been as bad as I've made them out to be.”

She smiled, her hostility towards the city easing ever so slightly at her new found revelations. At Nira'lia's mentioning of a magic guild here in the city, her head perked up instantly. Her eyes widened and seemed to shine as she listened to the girl walking a head of her. In all her life, she had never met anyone who was able to practice the mysterious phenomenon known as magic. It both intrigued and frightened her, making her curiosity to know more grow considerably.

“A mage guild? Really! Here in the city? Oh, I shouldn't be so surprised; this is Alvadas. But I've never met a mage before. Tell me, do they really do magic? What's it like?” Question after question poured out of Ruka's mouth as she chatted excitedly to Nira'lia, speeding up her pace so that she could walk beside her. Her eyes seemed to shimmer in excitement – never, since being in Alvadas, had Ruka been so excited about one thing. Of course, her job was an amazing surprise, and she was happy beyond belief to be hired there – but this was magic. She knew of the controversy that surrounded it, the dangers rumors had told were caused with associating with it; but Ruka couldn't help but be curious. It was in her nature.

“Nira, do you do magic? What do you do in the guild? Are there many people in it?” She caught herself shooting question after question at Nira'lia, and made herself stop and take a breath. She didn't want to overwhelm the Konti girl with her over baring curiosity, but sometimes she just couldn't help herself. “I'm sorry, I've never met a person who could do magic before – or heard of a mage guild either. This is all still so new to me. Heh heh … I guess I just got a little carried away.”

Suddenly, Nira'lia beckoned for Ruka for quicken her pace as a clearing surge up before them. With out needing much prompting, she did, and soon the two had broken out of the ocean of towering grass and into the wide, open clearing. Ruka sucked in a breath as her eyes locked onto the looming tree a few feet away from them. It was a nice sized tree, a little on the tall side, but with branches low enough it wouldn't give Ruka any trouble to jump up and grab on. The leaves, which looked as if they were on fire, swayed gently in the breeze, giving the illusion that the tree was just a giant torch. No wonder they had given it the name 'The Torch Tree.'

“Wow, it's beautiful. Don't you think so, Nira?” With out waiting for the other girl's reply, Ruka quickly scampered the few feet to the tree and stood admiringly under it branches. Sunlight streamed through the tiny openings the leaves made, making the burning tree seem to glow brightly even in the day time. 'I wonder if it glows at night too,' she thought absently as she gently dropped her bag on the soft grass beside her. Bending her knees, she pushed off the ground and grabbed hold of a low hanging branch. She hung there for a few moments as she gathered her strength, and then heaved herself up with a soft grunt. Straddling the branch with her legs, she bouncing lightly to test its strength. Confident it wouldn't break under her, she glanced down until her eyes found Nira'lia's.

“Hey, Nira! I'll pluck the leaves off and then throw them down. Catch them and put them in the box that's inside my bag so they don't get squashed – Ms. Irene was very particular about putting them in there.” Confidently, she slid down the branch until she was in reach of the leaves, hesitating as a sudden thought occurred to her.

“Hey, Nira,” she began, looking down sheepishly at her, “do you think these leave will burn us when we touch them?”

[Nira'lia]

When Ruka spoke about her grandmother and about what brought her here, Nira'lia's feature softened with sympathy. She said nothing about it since she didn't know the right words, although she wanted to tell Ruka that it was alright to grieve, and it was necessary. 'Oh, but who am I to say that...' she mused in her mind. Nira'lia couldn't even force herself to grieve if she wanted to, and she was a girl who had gone through a lot of hardships. It was a major flaw in her personality that even she could pinpoint. She knew how to feel intense sadness, yes, but she didn't know how to grieve. Ruka's myriad of questions caught her off guard. The Konti blinked, surprised at her reaction. She listened to all the questions, and just when she was about to respond, a new question was asked. Laughing, the Konti waited for Ruka to settle down. After all the questions were asked, it was also the same time Nira'lia found the clearing. There was the tree! The younger girl went ahead and Nira'lia watched her as she placed herself on top one of the branches. Now that Nira'lia had a closer look of the tree, she saw that it was indeed very beautiful. The leaves looked ethereal, the multitude of warm colors giving it an enchanted illusion of flames. Nira'lia placed her belongings away as well. She looked up at Ruka with a wide grin and beckoned her to start the task. Some leaves had already fallen from the tree, caused by nature, and she bent down and held one of them in her hand. It felt like any other normal leaf. The edges of the leaf were lined with a golden-red tint, and that was the reason the tree looked like it was on fire. "No, they're just leaves..." chuckled Nira'lia in reply to Ruka's question about burning themselves. She started to gather the leaves that had fallen, although they were not a lot in number. Nira'lia looked for the box Ruka had mentioned, stashing the few leaves she had already collected. Her mind was absent as they did their task. She continued to marvel at the fake flames... they seemed like magic. Magic! That was when she realized that she had yet to answer Ruka's question about the mage guild. "Oh, yes! The mage guild is called the Order of Transcendence! It was found late last season, and the members are not yet that vast in number," she explained. Nira'lia would not have been so informative about it in a normal situation, but Ruka had asked so many questions about the order. "There are all kinds of magic, and, yes... they practice it." Nira'lia thought back to what she knew about magic. Most of what she knew about magic were vague and were learned years ago, back in the city, courtesy of Eridanus. To be honest, even if she were aiding the mage guild, she was still wary of what they did. She remembered how she had witnessed a mage overgive, and the consequences were far from good. "I'm not a mage," continued Nira'lia. "I'm here to help them in other ways..." The Konti raised up her right hand and showed her the mark of a shimmering Lily. Ruka had probably noticed it already, but she thought it would make sense to explain what exactly she was doing in a mage guild if she didn't practice their skills. "I'm marked by Avalis, and the gift of sight can be useful in a lot of situations..." she said. Since Rak'keli's mark could only be very partially seen, she pulled on her sleeve momentarily to show Ruka more of the gnosis mark on her right shoulder. Seconds later, the Konti shrugged her sleeve back into place. "And this is Rak'keli's mark... and I bet you know how useful that is as well. Along with the practical skills that I already have, I aid the mages using the power that the sisters Avalis and Rak'keli have blessed me with."

[Ruka]

Nodding every now and then to Nira'lia's responses to her many questions, Ruka proceeded to pick leaf after leaf off of the gorgeous tree. She had attempted to keep count in her head, but due to Nira'lia, she found herself having a hard time trying to count and take in the information the girl was selflessly telling her at the same time. Upon hearing about Nira'lia's mark, she paused what she was doing and looked down. She let her eyes take in the beautiful mark of the goddess Avalis, her attention now fully on Nira'lia. As the Konti girl lifted the sleeve of her shirt, Ruka's eyes were instantly drawn to the mark placed upon her shoulder.

“Rak'keli's … mark …” Her hazel eyes shimmered as she looked down at the mark in awe – never before had she seen her beloved goddess's mark. Living in Mura, she had seen plenty of the beautiful Lilies placed upon the gorgeous Konti race by Avalis, but never before had she come across someone with Rak'keli's mark. Ever since she was a child, she had dreamed of some day becoming worthy enough to receive such a wonderful gift from her goddess. To see it though, was marvelous, and she was more than a little disappointed when Nira'lia pulled her sleeve back down.

“So, you're like the guild's doctor?” She asked, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand. However, Ruka was having a hard time pushing the thought of Rak'keli's mark out of her mind. She made a note to herself to ask Nira'lia about it later.

“34 … 35 … 36 … wait? Was that 36 or 37? Ah! I lost count!” Mussing her hair in aggravation, she looked down at Nira'lia desperately, hoping the girl had been keeping better count than she had. Still partially distracted by seeing Rak'keli's mark for the first time, she huffed grumpily and quickly scaled down the tree.

“Where you keeping count, Nira?” She asked, glaceing at the leaves placed neatly in the box Irene had lent to her. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she craned her head up to study the branch she had recently been on. The branches closest to the trunk were all but plucked dry, while those further out were still clustered together. It looked rather odd, and Ruka couldn't help but feel bad for the branch. It was like giving the tree a bad hair cut!

“I think I need to go higher up, I don't want to permanently harm the branch by taking all the leaves off.” Her eyes traveled up as she looked for an easy path higher into the tree, mentally cheering when she realized the branches were all pretty close together. It would be fairly easy climbing it. “Yosh! Alright, let's do this! We'll just say we were at 30 – that way we'll have a few extra to study our selves.”

Flashing a grin in Nira'lia's direction, she hopped back onto the branch and began scaling the tree. Plopping on to a fairly stable branch, she scooted until she was able to easily pluck the leaves. “Alight – 30 … 31 … 32 …”

[Nira'lia]

"Ah, I-I'm one of the doctors," explained Nira'lia. She actually wasn't sure about the entire tally of members, but she knew that it wasn't probable that she was the sole medic. "I'm sure they could even use more. I know magic is dangerous, but if you're somehow interested, you should think about it." Nira'lia continued to put the leaves aside. She could hear Ruka moving in her position, and she hoped that the younger girl wouldn't fall. Once in a while, the Konti would look up with concern just to make sure that Ruka wasn't doing anything rash. So far, so good. Forty-two, forty-three... Nira'lia wasn't keeping count, although she was listening to Ruka do so. The task seemed mundane now, but they continued to do it religiously. Slowly but surely, the box was being filled with the beautiful and enchanting leaves. "How exactly are these prepared?" asked the Konti. "As a salve...? Or do you brew them? Or... something else...?" As she inquired, she held one of the leaves between her fingers and twirled it around. Nira'lia wasn't too adept at herbalism yet, but she was eager to learn. After staring at the leaf, she returned to the task of putting it aside. Fifty-six, fifty-seven. "Are you a follower of Rak'keli, Rue?" asked Nira'lia. She could vaguely remember Ruka speak about Rak'keli, and she didn't fail to notice the awed expression that she wore when Nira'lia showed her the gnosis mark on her shoulder. It wouldn't be a surprise if she were Rak'keli's follower. After all, she was a medic. "Have you met her? I've... uhm, I've only met her once, and it was just very recently. She's... how do I say it...?" Nira'lia tried to think of a word that could explain the experience. The feelings that had been present when she met the Goddess were dominant of warmth and comfort. As she thought back on the memory, she couldn't help but smile. That's when she realized she couldn't think of the right word, so she chose to change the topic. "How's working at Ionu's Mercy?" she asked curiously, and out of the blue. Sixty-one, sixty-two...

[Ruka]

“Really? That's amazing, Nira! You must meet a lot of amazing people that way.” Ruka commented, grinning down at the other girl brightly as she plucked leaf after leaf off the tree. This task was slowly becoming tiresome, and Ruka wished desperately that she could just shake a branch and have all the leaves float to the ground. Of course, that probably wasn't possible, seeing as how the leaves were planted deeply into the branches. In order to do what she'd imagined, she'd have to break the entire branch! And that was not an option.

Seventy-three … seventy-four … seventy-five ...

“How are they prepared?” She hummed to her self for a few moments, trying to remember if Irene had told her how to prepared the illusionary leaf. Being new to Alvadas, she hadn't had much time to learn about the mysterious city's plant life. “I'm not really sure. I haven't been able to really study Alvadas's plant life yet. The only things I know so far are the little snippets Ms. Irene has taught me.”

Eighty-eight … eighty-nine … Ninety …

Ten more left! Ruka could feel her excitement growing as the last of the leaves slowly dwindled in number. How happy she would be to get out of this tree and back on the ground! It wasn't as if she disliked heights, but her arms were starting to become sore. She didn't know how much longer she could push her discomfort away before her sore muscles took their toll; but at the mention of her beloved goddess, she had all but forgotten her pitiful whining.

“Yes! I've worshiped my dearest Rake'keli ever since I can remember.” A swell of pride erupted in her chest as she talked about the healing goddess, her plucking speed increasing with an enthusiastic vigor.

Ninety-eight … ninety-nine … one hundred ...

“But I haven't had the chance to meet her yet … I hope I'll be able to someday.” She sighed wistfully, almost passing over the fact that she had gathered the hundredth leaf. “Ah! Nira, we're done!” Carefully clambering down the tree, she dropped down to the grassy earth and held the last leaf up for Nira'lia's inspection, a broad grin on her face.

“I thought we'd never be done.” Bending over, Ruka placed the last leaf in the box and placed the lid back over it. Sliding it back into her bag, she quickly closed the top and swung the strap over her shoulder. She massaged her sore biceps on her arm, a happy mewl escaping the confines of her lips. At the other girls question, she turned her attention back to the Konti.

“Working at Ionu's Mercy?” She paused, giving herself a moment to choose her words. “It's a lot of hard work, and a lot of responsibility. It's not something you can slack off in, and you always have to be on your toes. It gets really tiring, because people need help all the time! No matter what time of day or night it is.”

She motioned for the girl to follow her as she started making her way back towards, what she hoped was, the city. “But regardless of that, I love it! It's so much fun, being able to help others. And you get to learn so much from everyone around you. No matter how hard the work is, or how stressful it can be, just hearing the patients say 'Thank you' or sending me a smile is all the reward I need. It's what keeps me going, inspiring me to help everyone I can to the best of my abilities.”

[Nira'lia]

The Konti could relate to Ruka's sentiments. A satisfied and comforted smile graced Nira'lia's face as she listened to the younger girl speak about the zeal that she felt about her job. "I'm going to accompany you back to the hospital, okay?" inquired the Konti. She couldn't recall if she had already told Ruka that she wanted to tag along and see if she could get a job at Ionu's Mercy. "Well, uhm, hopefully we don't get lost... how do you find your way to the hospital every single day? I suppose Ionu guides you to it, like how he always guides me back to the inn I'm staying at?" Before they left the tree behind, Nira'lia bent down and picked up a stray leaf for herself. She reached into her bag and tucked the leaf between the pages of her book. Nira'lia didn't know how to prepare it, and she doubted that one piece could amount to anything effective, but at least she had a specimen for herself. After she had put the leaf aside, she started to make her way towards the city with Ruka. They entered the sea of grass once again, making their way towards what they assumed was the direction of the city. For some reason, it was actually much easier to find their way out of the grass this time. Soon enough, they were looking at the Emerald Pond once again. Nira'lia stared at the Emerald Pond for a few moments. She felt curious, and once again felt enchanted by it. The Konti didn't know anything about its story, or if it even had one, but she felt like something about it was attracting her. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she put her attention back at Ruka. With a wide grin, she gestured towards the city. Now that they were out in the open, it wasn't difficult to see the houses and streets that lined Alvadas. The Konti happily started to walk towards the houses, and was going nowhere in particular. She continuously checked to see that Ruka was still around, as if fearing that she'd lose sight of her 'guide'. "So, where's Ionu's Mercy?" asked Nira'lia hopefully.